Transportation Systems
Sitemap '---------------------------------------------------------------------' Transportation_Systems '---------------------------------------------------------------------' * See Also Real_Trolleys_and_Subs_and_Trains * See Also Bathyspheres * See Also Atlantic Express * See Also Transportation Stuff * See Also Watertight_Doors_and_Bulkheads (Walking is also 'Transportation) --- --- --- The Transit Will Actually Transit : NO FAKE/ILLOGICAL SYSTEM LIKE IN Infinite BS ... * The game's ocean scenery terrain is actually going to be in the game world (in detail) not just a backdrop. * The trips via the Metro and Atlantic Express will actually show the terrains and current activities (both human and sealife) going on out there as you are transported. * Since the Metro (in places) is suspended on Cables high over the cityscape (like the Skyride at Disneyland) you will be able to look down on large vistas of the City (hopefully with more of those impressive city lights turned back on). * While you take a simulated long trip (mere minutes) you can peruse some of your mini-games and check up on what your 'team' is up to via the Team Task interface or check your mail. * The Bathysphere lockout that Ryan ordered was later broken by Hackers (became common knowledge), besides any that Jack released for his 'Evil' ending. By later times they were mostly disused because the cableway mechanisms no longer were functioning from lack of maintenance. The City is trying to restore the Metro system as fast as possible. * From time to time there will be 'breakdowns' that will require either transit delays or even rescue. Likely at Rush Hour you will have to wait in some lines to board your 'sphere to your intended destination. The City is taking great efforts to improve service and to expand capacity of its Transit systems. --- --- --- A Problem with the Transportation in Columbia - Its Inefficient Getting ANYWHERE : You have to take one thing to get to X , then walk to get to another going to Y, and then again on a ways to something else to get to Z, and maybe one of those floating building sections ontop of the rest. Hardly a bother ? Its a nice stroll ? How about for the people who have to get to/from work every day via the same ineffective system ? They can't just teleport via Tears, you know. It MIGHT have been semi-intelligent to have passenger trains on the Skyline -- likely what it was to be for (or SHOULD have been for) when Columbia was a Exposition Showcase City. ((Heck, they even had a Moving Walkway at the *REAL* 1893 Exposition. Google "moving walkway 1893 exposition")) Unfortunately, that whole stupid Skyway rollercoaster mess was illogical as created, freight or not (BUT it (applying some reality) could have been straightened out to be like the elevated trains that were being put in the big cities at that time, to be something REALLY impressive AND logical). That way you would have not a disconnected higgledy-piggledy mish-mosh of half-arsed conveyances, but a systematic CONVENIENT system running logical routes, with meaningful transfer stations (looking a bit like the Trailer's/still's Skyline stations, that were subsequently thrown away/unused/irrelevant). Unfortunately, with an efficient transit system it is harder to think of ways to force the Player through the chronic game maze (no easy alibis like civil war destruction -or- tyrant-ordered lockdowns in bright and shiny Columbia ...). Having to get into the cars to travel might've been a chance to get some meaningful conversation between Elizabeth and Booker (another thing bang-bang game writers wish to avoid ...) A few canned/scripted situations - that's the ticket. "You pays yur money, and yur taken for a ride ..." RAPTURE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS (but not as fustercluck bad) --- --- --- Trolley Circa late 40s LA (Pacific Electric) This is closer to what the Trolleys would look like in Rapture (they could still keep some of the stylized attempt to look like a Bathysphere). Same Pacific Electric Trolley (old LA system) except is a caricature (real cars were twice as long as that). Diagrams : ' The trains - Atlantic Express - the backbone of Rapture, and the Trolley system - the arteries: --- ---- Blueprint_extraction - Freight Loco/boxcar - ---- ---- '''Trains to Planes : ' Prentis Mill was being forced to sell out his Atlantic Express passenger service because the Metro Transit (Austen and other companies had outcompeted him with the more flexible/extensive Trolley and Bathysphere systems). The Freight system continued ( a reason why parts of it was still working 8 years later to be used in BS2 ...) but the cost of passenger operations made them unprofitable (insufficient passengers, inflexible destinations, maintaining all the extra equipment/facilities required for Rush Hour crowds - all real world issues). The same things happened to US passenger train operations in the 50s (replaced by bus, planes and automobiles) and commuter lines have NEVER been profitable anywhere - always subsidized (which was a no-no in Rapture. And STILL the only reason the Trolleys are profitable is because of a combined freight/express delivery service). The Bathysphere system was more a 'prestige' operation and was supported by the charges for Private Submarines accessing the same facilities. --- --- --- '''Atlantic Express did keep running: * A removed Public Service Announcement from BS2 game directed civilians to use the Atlantic Express due to Ryan's genetic lockdown of Bathyspheres throughout the city. "Rapture Metro regrets to inform you all bathysphere travel is currently restricted. Please use The Atlantic Express until further notice." This would demonstrate the AE train system is still functional, despite its 'buyout' or abandonment. * Note - that says 'Bathyspheres' instead of Trolleys (I would strongly argue those Trolleys we saw in BS2 went far further than the 300 feet paths portrayed in-game). * The Atlantic Express was heavily used for freight traffic and when the Metro took over much of the passenger service the profitable freight part of the AE operation remained (again like US railroads). * Unfortunately, lack of maintenance on the AE system after Ryan's demise started to take its toll and eventually many routes no longer functioned. --- --- --- Trolley in place of Trucks : * There was no equivalent in Rapture to trucks (or even wagons) that make most real cities work (movement of bulk quantities of goods to specific locations). * A logical alternative was using the extensive Trolley system for local freight deliveries of all kinds (including transfers from The Atlantic Express system). Add freight docks at all the Plaza hubs or even in individual building complexes (include forklifts and conveyor belt systems). * Alot of this 'freight' is not any kind of curb-to-curb service (as we can have), but much better than the Bathyspheres -- which are near as limited as the AE system was (requiring hand carrying from the Metro stations(up and down steps, etc) - I suppose there could also be some 'freight' Bathysphere docks, but that whole system is still too inflexible/limited for this use, and the shear volume of freight the city required). * Freight-only Trolley cars run almost as frequently as the passenger version (and more frequently at night when passenger traffic is lighter).. Freight cars (pulled by Trolley engines) get parked at spur (siding) tracks at destinations for loading/unloading. Raptures 20000+ citizens required a continuous flow of consumables and other merchandise, which requires daily distribution (moving that all that thru those Bathysphere Metro stations is laughably ludicrous when you consider it). --- --- --- Different Atlantic Express lines : * The scene outside of Paupers Drop and AE Depot belongs to a much larger system than that small/limited Map seen in BS2. So that represents only a fraction of the entire AE system. The map really highlighted only that one route (as many 'local maps' do). * The "Short Line" (AE Depot to The Abyss) seen in BS2 used the smaller Mk-1 cars/track built in the earliest days to facilitate the City's construction. - Mk1 equipment was superseded by the larger capacity Mk2 cars, running thru expanded population and industrial centers of the City. Even the extensive Mk-2 system was not sufficiently flexible for passenger traffic needs and was replaced with the Metro Trolley Lines. * Mk1s built in the early days had been relegated-to/remained-for minor 'low traffic' lines going thru 'lesser' destinations -- like the one we rode going thru Ryan Amusements, Paupers Drop, Dionysus Park (which had been something else before conversion to Lamb's hoity-toity art establishment...), Fontaine Futuristics, and terminating at the Abyss Lookout. * The Mk2 track support girder system was designed after it was found that the concrete structures used for much of the Mk-1 lines could not stand up to increasing freight loads. The new MK2 girder system could be repaired piecemeal quickly and were stronger and responded much more flexibly to vibrations and stress. The more heavily traveled routes had their track supports switched to the new system as were all further track extensions. Some Mk-1 equipment was sold for use to a few of the later built satellite communities. * "Line 47 - South East Branch" (sign seen in the AE station at Fontaine Futuristics in BS2) : **The Line indicated on the AE Map is not actually to Persephone (which is adjacent to Fontaine Futuristics), instead it runs down to a site that processed the unusual materials brought up from the Abyss (using a water elevator system to access the great depths) and also served as a Tourist destination. * Grand Central Station is at the Atlantic Express Depot (was called 'Grand Central' on Passenger Schedules and maps before the takeover). The trains out of Rapture to all the support communities and industrial sites (Ryanville, Progresston, Prosperity, etc..) originated here. The largely unused state we saw in BS2 (you can see a closed-off portal "To All Tracks") was years after the Metro took over and the Atlantic Express in-city passenger service was first shutdown. Later with the Bathysphere lockdown, some passenger routes were reactivated (many the ones the Trolleys did not service). A majority of routes eventually fell into disrepair, even though Factions outside of Lamb's reach tried to maintain them --- --- --- Blueprint of the 'Atlantic Express' units (seen in the workshops of the AE Depot) : * These are of something NOT the AE traincars you use in BS2 - does not match the type Delta uses - has no window looking out the front, has different headlights (Looks like the unit shown on one of the AE advertisements ---- http://www.game-archivist.com/rapture ...test_Way_1.jpg ). * The blueprint shows the unit's engine being where the operator's cabin is in the game. The arrangement looks like some kind of freight 'locomotive' type, which would be used to pull freightcars on the AE track system (or maybe long distance trains of multiple passenger cars). * The Unit would be loaded with batteries (for extended operating range) in the midsection with a operator cab in the middle or rear end. --- --- --- Issue of 'charging batteries' : * Powering the AE 'trains' by burning fuel might be used (compressed oxygen as well a liquid fuel), though venting the exhaust gas to the Ocean at 280+psi would be a significant technical problem. Burning hydrolysis generated hydrogen (burns and byproduct is water vapor which can be condensed into liquid) could work but hydrogen fuel is bulky and doesn't have alot of BTUs for the gases volume. * Any kind of compressed/liquid gas (using gas expansion and 'air-motors') would face the same venting into sea pressure inefficiencies. Really big, really high pressure tanks are needed to overcome the exhaust problem - tanks need filling which with high pressures means hazards and extra maintenance (...expenses). * Battery Power - Large banks of batteries (under the floor for the passenger cars and making up much of the volume of a 'locomotive') could work (particularly since the mass of the vehicle has to be over its displacement). Charging them constantly would have to be done (automatic charging pads/rails on the station track, so as not to require manual and constant 'plugging-in' of charging cables). Keeping that mechanism dry and clean and handling the constant submerging in salt water would have to be made to work. 'Pick-up' shoes that engage in-station charging rails might be simplest (ie - practical third rail systems in the real world which work in rain, etc...). * Rejected ideas : ** Atomic power units - we'll save those for the "Bioshock 5 - On the Moon" game. ** Wound up Giant Rubber bands -- who does the winding ? Actually using ultra-high RPM gyroscopic energy storage was proposed like 15-20 years ago (Popular Mechanics) for things like buses, but those things are like bombs (kinetic energy) and are not quite 'bus mechanic' friendly even today. ** ADAM enhanced Hamsters in those little spinning treadmills... lots of them (who will feed them and clean out the cages???). --- --- --- Automatic running : * Trolleys had to avoid running over people, automatic stations stops and waiting for traffic ahead is much simpler. * Bathyspheres run point to point on cables, so could run without an operator if the on-off cable switch operation could be done consistently -- nothing the AI brain of a Security Bot couldn't handle. * Those systems broke down fairly quickly when Civil War curtailed maintenance. * The trains would always have drivers to handle other contingencies, if not automatic train operation. * For the MMORPG, there will be drivers/operators for the various transportation vehicles. The City (New Rapture) is getting some of the automatics to work again, but so far is limited to only a few of the main routes. Some of the City Jobs offered (Missions) is to be an operator of the various transit vehicles. --- --- --- Station Controls: It is interesting looking at the fake control pannels in the AE stations (missing are the track situation/status boards that railroads usually have, with indicators for track switch positions and track occupation (showing where trains are on the tracks). Still, those are nice Asset bits there that could be used for various 'working' machinery in the MMORPG (as-well-as AE system controls). A Central Dispatcher and Traffic Control would be used for Rapture's trains, and the stations controls are a redundant local set (and since by the MMORPG time the Central System (The Thinker?) is down and any functional AE trackage/trains will be under local 'Tower' Control). Mini-game playing 'Train Dispatcher' would be expected to be included in the 'role playing' activities that demonstrate New Rapture's functioning infrastructure. --- --- --- 62.4 lb/cubic foot (cubic yard = 1684.8 lb) - weight for water displacement ''' (cubic foot of water is heavy...) : One of the things to consider about all these undersea vehicles is that if they have internal empty volume (ie- the passenger cabin on the AE train cars) they have to have some massive weights somewhere in their structure to prevent them from floating away (need to have less than a neutral buoyancy to stay on the track). * A heavy steel hull can easily weigh more by just making it thicker (the 600+ft depth works with a steel hull about 1 inch thick (40lb/foot^2) with a more than adequate safety margin. (still not enough though) * The Trains would be battery powered and those would weight quite alot (heavier than water) and take up much of the space below the passenger cabin deck. The mass of the traincars will be substantial, requiring the tracks to be built able to take the vibrations and acceleration forces used on such masses (if not the real weight). * The 'empty weight' of the Train cars would have to be heavier than their neutral buoyancy weight to keep them hanging from the track, but unlike the Bathyspheres they need nothing complicated to maintain the neutral buoyancy since all the weight (including added cargo) now is supported by the track. * The boxcar shown in the diagram could easily carry more than 30 tons of cargo. --- --- --- '''Balloon Trains : An alternate design from a downward hanging monorail type (which the Rapture vehicles use - because they come inside, out-of-the-water) -- instead have them hang like a balloon ABOVE a rail (or a slot between 2 rails to restrain their 'floating away'). But it could not come 'inside' (out of the water) or would have to float in a pool of water and people would have to climb up out of the top of it like a modern submarines deck hatch, or it would have to 'dock' outside -- maybe only good for a freight-only system... Maybe have some system like this at one of the mining sites. Consider that spacecraft or space stations or the vacuum of the moon ( a possible future true 'Bioshock' setting ) only need to contend with a 14.7 PSI pressure differential (vacuum to 1 atm) and their structure need only be built strong enough to deal with that (vs 280+ psi surface pressure for Rapture at a depth of 600 feet). The Apollo LEMs (lander) hull was little more than thick foil (to save weight). Of course you would want to build a real space station with a 600% engineering safety margin (as you would things in Rapture as well) and built with massive shielding for radiation, puncture-proofing and such. --- --- --- "Millville" one of the City's 'Plazas' (named after Prentis Mill who designed and built the Atlantic Express system ). Lots more locations in Rapture than those shown on the BS1 and BS2 maps (Austen Bathysphere Co and that tiny AE map). Many names are yet to be added for the MMORPG, which would encompass the entire city and outlying sites. Weird looking Rapture Trolleys : * That rather odd look of the Trolley cars (also called 'trams') which are (seen near the Olympus Heights/Apollo Square levels in BS1) was probably done that way because they (the Devs) wanted the style to look to be simulate to that of the Bathyspheres --- With that odd round door, and the spotlight clusters, and the brass decorations. * Those Bizarre short length of those double trolley tracks running to the 'residential areas' (the longest is only ~300 feet long) which is way too short to be useful. The real system would extend through the Plaza/Squares (likely on a lower 'track' level) to continue on to the next Plaza/Square along the 'streets'. Line endpoints would usually have a loop or a switch so the trolley could reverse direction back along the same path on the opposite track. The street Trolley lines would interconnect (criss-cross) most of the City to serve the majority of Raptures 20000 people. * The station platforms should be match with the Trolley car's door level. The end opening with those weird steps is just wrong (putting the passenger down on the track - trolleys just about always have passengers enter/exit from sides). * Add Trolley pole for power from overhead wire (batteries never really worked for Trolley systems)... Trolley wire technology was already a well proven 70 years old when Rapture was built. So add the wires also. --- --- --- AE Station and Track Layouts On the Diagram : ''' * We usually only saw one 'door' the train went thru in BS2 when going into the ocean. But there '''would need to be a second door to make a working airlock (to transition back out into the ocean pressure) and even a third door set to make it a safer double airlock. Some train lines could traverse an 'air' tunnel between stations, which would not require any expensive airlocks (though would probably have safety bulkhead doors that would only close in emergencies. * The AE stations are not small (and the Mk-2 even bigger because of the much larger/longer Mk2 railcars). They would be located below the Plaza structures (much like some modern train stations), usually in proximity to the seabed which they would usually run along. * The track structures - piers, switches, wide curves, double tracks, flyovers, station bypasses are all typical railroad arrangements. No rollercoaster tight curves or steep grades. --- --- --- Trolley/Streetcars/Trams - A Useful Transport System : Metro Central (node) Consolidated system (with main Trolley barns, maintenance facilities, Offices, Token system) : * Distances in Rapture (the City is like 3 miles across in any one direction) aren't so great as to need too many dispersed maintenance facilities. Seals on (large track sized) Watertight Pressure doors ... (Safety mechanisms require to prevent catastrophic failure spreading). * The Trolley Emergency doors have alternate 'human-sized' path and service Airlocks * The Main door(s) cannot opened until pressure integrity is restored. * As with other Seal Systems, they would be tested regularly and conditions constantly monitored (even then the local systems (which activated the Seals) were independent and redundant to make them as Failsafe as possible). Trolley Routes - minimize # of Emergency Seal doors to make them economical (they ARE expensive). Typical configuration : * At minor Stations, the individual Stations are Isolated from the buildings they serve, and Access is through Securis type doors (to isolate any catastrophic leaks into any attached buildings/Plaza). The whole City is sectioned a bit better than the Titanic was... * Large (expensive) emergency doors on the Tracks located only at strategic points. 'Streets' with inhabited buildings have more frequent compartmentalization (are inhabited, thus with a higher cost of failure). * Proper Trolley Cars would be used (not those bizarre things that look like they should be pulled down Main Street in Disneyland by a horse). --- --- --- 1953Style.jpg|real world ideas --- --- --- Look at the Difference in the Controls of the AE Trains and the Bathyspheres. It is obvious that the AE control cab in BS2 is overdone (but pretty, in a jet-airliner/moon-capsule-type complex way), and the Bathysphere (in BS1) is too simple. Neither requires much for (Player) game function activation. A train can be guided with a handful of controls. A submarine needs many. The Bathyspheres allegedly being 'automatic', with routing between a list of destinations, that would be MUCH simpler with a system that hangs on a cable, along fixed routes. In my Rapture I have the Bathyspheres run on Cables directly between Transit Stations (guided/safe/reliable/routine operation). They thus don't need many maneuvering controls, but the vehicle's environmental systems DOES need indicators and such. Both vehicles have similar complexity for their environmental controls (which are missing/not even indicated on the Bathysphere). --- --- --- . . . . . . . Rapture (being in the depths of the sea) couldn't have the free flowing pedestrians and automobile traffic of a Surface City. The games representation of the interconnectedness (existing in most all cities) was poorly shown (Rapture needed ALOT more accessible viaducts leading to adjacent buildings and running to distant complexes for a start). The city needed some kind of Streets to give greater flexibility to the Citizens than the limited transportation systems the game allowed for. --- --- --- Tramway system ''': * A smaller track system used for utility purposes. * Runs under city 'Streets' (more places than trolleys do) * Accessible to building basements (freight/maintenance sidings) * Electric overhead wire (with battery units for temporary/repair areas) * Garbage hauling from garbage chutes to dumps * Bulk freight movement (medium large items, day shipment) * Equiptment movement (alot of machinery gets moved and is too large to 'manhandle' thru public transportation * Tunnel size - 6x6x12 foot payload width/height (many construction items sized to these dimensions) * Maintenance personnel transport (parallels utility lines and connects all the utility installations) * Long distance tunnel haulage to Industrial sites outside city (mining, chemicals, fuels, personnel transport) * Incline ramp (cable haul) to gain altitude 600-800ft to 100ft level (ex - to Industrial district inside Mount Ryan) * Automatic Bulkhead door protection - 8ft x 8ft doors (the usual simple foolproof mechanism) * Tram system has its own distributed maintenance facilities (the whole system is largely based on simplicity) * Tram's track is prefabricated metal sections, just needs to be bolted down (makes easy to repair - can even be laid thru building flooring to assist construction operations) * Players may have private tram cars (dismantlable/portable) used when going into a 'wild'/border area where the tram facilities aren't yet restored. * City projects/jobs usually provide use of tramway facilities to assist players in their work. * Traffic system is simple on trams - low-tech 'redball' signals and passing sidings for bi-directional traffic. --- --- --- '''NEEDED - A Sub Vehicle Small Enough To Fit Into The Standard Airlocks : Squarish shape to fit all what needs to be contained (a cockpit big enuf for a 'cumfy chair' - side by side seat...) within its volume, mechanism within and without the thick pressure hull. Roll-in (small wheels) from outside (nice track slots on the ground to guide in alignment), the airlock cycles, and the vehicle rolls inside (reverse all to go out) Small as 6 x 6 foot 'HxW door plate', and a little longer for length Vehicle Still will weigh tons (Approx 6 x 6 x 6 foot cube is 216 cubic feet = 13,484 lb of water displaced - almost 7 tons !!!) Pretty sturdy wheels under that (not meant to roll about inside much - just on a reinforced concrete rollway to park and on the external 'landing pad') A winch inside (and a door on the front for 'ingress and egress' to manually work the winch mechanism to clear the airlock (no automatics and 'winch is ON the vehicle itself) Vehicle like this would have been used alot during construction when fewer vehicle airlocks were available/operating (all buildings/structures have one or more maintenance access airlocks). Probably used as the 'cab' cockpits for construction machinery (rather than so many guys outside in diving suits) OPEN THE POD BAY DOORS HAL !!! --- --- --- . . . . You have to GET TO Rapture (to build it, to get all the immigrants there, and to supply it for an extended period). So for at least the more affluent residents, there would be a faster more convenient way to get to Rapture (ie- Ryan going back and forth during the construction). So a 'Flying Boat' (as they were called) would be the way (though the turbulent waters/weather of North Atlantic would make that a less than optimal operation). This is a large model sea plane which was used in WW2 for Anti-Sub Patrols (due to its extended range - similar ones were used before WW2 for long distance civilian airline operations - and were very expensive to operate and were limited to wealthy travelers). Smaller aircraft like ex-Navy PBYs would possibly be the most realistic option (not quite Pullman quality accommodations though). --- --- --- "Sea Gate 12" (Seen in AE Depot and in the MP 'Home for the Poor' ) : Was this a submarine docking port ?? (airlock to a submerged sub instead of the Metro station type installation). This kind of system predated the Bathysphere Metro operation and was possibly used for private subs or commercial 'cab' service operations -- "Checkered Sub", "Yellow Submarine" (before the Beatles !), "Sea Limo" ... The docking approach and airlock operation was slow (when its to be safely done). This was an issue and a reason why the much faster Metro out-of-water system was preferred. --- --- --- Submarine Docking Systems - Many attempts to find methods to speed-up docking, while maintaining safety : * Very Fast airlock draining could be added, but that was only a small segment of the total time used while docking. * Mass of submarine is a problem -- for even small ones weigh dozens of tons. * Submarines/bathyspheres didn't have overly fine maneuvering capabilities to deal with random ocean currents or the fine movements required to match up and join at a precise point, and with the correct orientation. * Docking arm mechanisms were too easily broken and more substantial ones dented the submarines. * Automatic systems were not reliable, even with improved maneuverability. * Flexible docking tubes (like used at airports) were too easily damaged or not that flexible (constructed to be able to withstand 300+psi pressure). * Mechanical lock-n-winch and a guide (funnel-like) structure kept getting fouled and required extra maintenance. * Alignment guides for the final join matchup did work, but only in the last foot of docking approach. * Slow approach and careful maneuvering continued to be required, limiting consumer convenience. --- --- --- Submarine Operations : * Usually requires a dedicated engineer to maintain a subs many systems ** Batteries and charging system/motors/air system/ballast/trim system/Rudder controls/ etc etc etc ** Optional engines burning fuel (only operable on the surface) are needed for long-distance travel ** Alternative compressed gas drive system (pressurized gas used to drive propulsion motors) * Sub piloting skills are highly specialized and require licensing (safety hazard issues) * Many operators of subs will contract services for extended periods or will do 'trips' ( 'a 3 hour tour...' ) * There are many parts of the 'Wild' that are only easily accessible by submarine. * Hangar space at Metro stations for 'parking' subs and bathyspheres out of the way of ongoing operations. * Repair facilities at several City Docks. Unofficial facilities also available. * Metro Bathyspheres are NOT submarines (though some submarines are shaped small enough to use Metro Stations) * Bathysphere's hull is 1 inch steel plate (to withstand base depth pressure). Some subs may have thicker hull if they are to operate at lower depths (like mining sites). * Small private submarines existed in Rapture with the popular 'mini' being able to use Metro station facilities. * "Please lock the Sub" ... never know when a Splicer will want to go for a joyride ... --- --- --- --- --- . .